fuses

[itour504]

2004 HR Admiral 30 ft. I plugged a tire inflator into 12 v adapters / cigarette lighter in my dashboard. Small pop and now the adapters do not work and the light telling me its power is on will not light up. Manual says that fuse is in a fuse box in the engine compartment but nothing in that box is blown, Anyone know where that fuse is for the power adapter / dashboard cigarette lighter ? I am sort of assuming that is the problem. Any thoughts?

 

[John From Detroit]

I have found often the fuses are not "As advertised"

What Chassis?
On my Workhorse there were 4 fuse boxes
Chassis main (Front and center under the "hood)
Crossover, Intelletec battery control Center.. Driver's side of main
I/P Behind the parking brake pedal

And HOUSE (not the one you need, Lights. Fridge, Water pump et-al_)

 

[itour504]

Thank you. Ford V 10 chassis. We have 3 fuse boxes ( that I know of ) one in the engine compartment on the firewall, one behind the parking brake pedal, and one in the bedroom opposite bed . We have searched the one in the engine compartment which is where the manual says it is. We have also searched the one in the bedroom. I suspect it is the one behind the brake pedal, only because for physical reasons I can not get to that one. ( HA ! ) I think that today I will take off the panel in the dashboard and try to trace the wires that lead to the 12 v power adapters/ cigarette lighter.

 

[8Muddypaws]

That you heard the pop probably means it was fairly close to where you were when it blew.

i'm thinking you might find an in-line fuse, if it's not behind the brake.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

It is quite common for a 12v outlet to have an inline fuse, so I would take a look for that behind the outlet. The fact that there was an audible POP suggests the fuse is nearby, not tucked away in a fuse box somewhere.

 

[NY_Dutch]

I have two 12-volt outlets on my dash, one that's always powered and one that's ignition switch controlled. Both have inline fuses connected to them.

 

[Kirk]

Manual says that fuse is in a fuse box in the engine compartment but nothing in that box is blown,

The plug in the dashboard is almost certain to have a fuse where your manual says that it is. Did you pull that fuse out and check it with a meter? Just looking at it doesn't always tell the story so if you don't have a meter, put a new fuse in in it's place. I used to own a motohome on an F53 chassis and the fuse listing in that manual was correct. The popping noise would seem to be a fuse, if the sound came from that direction but you could also look for damage behind the dash if that is where the pop came from. But you really need a meter to know if the fuse is bad.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Have you tried something other than the tire inflator in the socket? Many plugs that fit in those "accessory sockets aka cigarette lighter socket" have the fuse inside of the plug.

Some "cigarette lighter sockets" have a fuse that screws directly onto the stud on the rear of them.

This type seems to be common to many different Japanese vehicles but could be used anywhere.

 

[dcrbtt]

2004 HR Admiral 30 ft. I plugged a tire inflator into 12 v adapters / cigarette lighter in my dashboard. Small pop and now the adapters do not work and the light telling me its power is on will not light up. Manual says that fuse is in a fuse box in the engine compartment but nothing in that box is blown, Anyone know where that fuse is for the power adapter / dashboard cigarette lighter ? I am sort of assuming that is the problem. Any thoughts?

I have to pull the radio panel and the fuse is on a cord downstream of the cigarette lighter.

 

[itour504]

Have you tried something other than the tire inflator in the socket? Many plugs that fit in those "accessory sockets aka cigarette lighter socket" have the fuse inside of the plug.

Some "cigarette lighter sockets" have a fuse that screws directly onto the stud on the rear of them.

This type seems to be common to many different Japanese vehicles but could be used anywhere.

No power to the adapter / cig lighter.

 

[itour504]

I have to pull the radio panel and the fuse is on a cord downstream of the cigarette lighter.

Thank you for your response. I did that but found nothing. About how far downstream? I assume the hot wire ?

 

[Lou Schneider]

Sometimes only one of the two side terminals on the plug is active and you have to insert it into the socket a certain way to make contact. The pop you heard might have been from an intermittent contact, not from a short circuit blowing the fuse.

Do you have a voltmeter or a test light you can use to see if there's voltage on the contact in the center of the socket? There should be +12 volts between there and ground.

 

[itour504]

I detached and tested the wires. It is dead. Both receptacles are dead. There is no power coming to them.

 

[Krazeehorse33]

My guess is in the fuse panel behind the brake pedal, just like a "normal" vehicle. The dash power outlet will be fused there if it was a car or truck.

 

[Ex-Calif]

You may consider running a new clean 12V supply if you are gonna run the tire inflator again. I would conisder 15-20amps but it depends on the rating of the socket device itself.

Do you know the rating of the tire inflator? My high pressure inflator calls for 15amps.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

The spec for a cigarette lighter plug/socket is 10 amps. Some have been designed as "power" sockets for currents higher than that, but the pedestrian socket in most any vehicle isn't really up to powering a high current device like an inflator. Powering a phone or radar detector is pretty much all they're designed to handle. Of course the typical user doesn't know that, believing that plugs and sockets that fit together will work. So much for ubiquitous compatibility. It's my guess that this circuit popped as intended by design, with a fuse in place suited for the light gauge wire that's likely there.

This probably isn't directly useful advice since I have a different chassis, but the fuse panel for my accessory sockets is behind and to the left of the instrument cluster inside the dash. So I have to tilt up the instrument cluster to get at it, and it's separate from the fuse panel on the firewall left of the brake pedal. So throwing it out there that if your instrument cluster tilts/hinges for access, give a peek for a panel in there.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Mark is right on! Typical12v sockets have a 10A max and I'll bet that one is served with 18 gauge wire too. It needs to have a fuse to protect it from heavy amp loads.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

And just to illustrate the picture, a load like an inflator or "defroster" plugged into a cigarette lighter is the same current as plugging an 1800W floor heater into a 120V outlet. Start running 12-15A or so through light gauge wire and things get warm. Toss in a crappy/loose connection and things melt irrespective of voltage. In a perfect world there would be a move away from this piss poor power connector to something more robust and suited for the purpose and indeed, most cars today come with USB for charging phones so at least that part is covered. Would be nice if there was a more ubiquitous consumer connector standard.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[dcrbtt]

Thank you for your response. I did that but found nothing. About how far downstream? I assume the hot wire ?

Only about 8-10"

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The 12v "cigarette lighter" outlet is a prime example of 12v inertia in vehicles. The SAE standard 12v connector is rated for 30A and has been around for decades, but still hasn't supplanted the ubiquitous lighter socket.